Former sheriff’s deputy, accused molester, denied bond
Ex-Los Alamos, S.F. County employee allegedly threatened to commit suicide before arrest
Astate District Court judge on Friday ordered a former Santa Fe County sheriff ’s deputy held in jail without bond, saying no conditions of pretrial release could protect the community from the accused child molester, who allegedly threatened to shoot himself in the head or commit “suicide by cop” about a week before he was arrested on the charges.
Dustin Bingham, 36, faces eight counts of criminal sexual contact for allegedly molesting two girls he had baby-sat.
Bingham worked as a detention officer for the Los Alamos Police Department from September 2012 until April 2015, according to the Los Alamos Monitor. He was then hired by the Santa Fe County Sheriff ’s Office, where he worked until early February. He resigned amid an internal investigation into the matter.
According to a warrant filed in the Los Alamos County Magistrate Court, Bingham was arrested on the charges May 3, after his father and stepmother reported him to police in the community.
Los Alamos Sgt. Timothy Lonz, who took the report from Bingham’s family, testified in court Friday that Bingham’s father said his son knew he had a problem but was seeking counseling through a church and did not believe he needed to be in jail.
During the hearing before District Judge T. Glenn Ellington to determine whether Bingham should be allowed to post bond, Lonz said Bingham’s father told him his son had warned that if police came to arrest him, he would shoot himself in the head with a pistol or point a rifle at police officer — creating a scenario in which police would be forced to fire at him.
Lonz was called by Assistant District Attorney Michael Nunez to testify on why Bingham should not be released on bail pending his trial.
Lonz said he spoke to Bingham after he had been taken into custody.
“I had worked with him before,” Lonz said. “I did like — I do like — Dustin, and I wanted to check on him.”
Bingham said he needed to get help, Lonz said, and Lonz asked him to promise that he wouldn’t hurt himself. But Bingham’s reply, Lonz said, was that he wouldn’t hurt himself in Los Alamos, but he couldn’t promise he wouldn’t hurt himself somewhere else.
“I was heartbroken when he said that,” Lonz said.
Lonz also testified that Bingham expressed anger that the arresting officer in the case had towed his work vehicle instead of allowing him to call and ask his employer to pick it up. The way Bingham looked away in anger, Lonz said, made him afraid for the other officer. Los Alamos is a small community, he said, where people know one another’s homes and hangouts.
Nunez argued in court and in a written motion that Bingham’s familiarity with weapons and his training as a law enforcement officer made him especially dangerous to the community.
Bingham’s defense attorney, Steve Aarons, argued that Bingham has no prior criminal history and had “calmed down” since making those statements to his father.
Aarons also said Bingham didn’t pose a threat to children in the community, saying both of the former deputy’s alleged victims were “sexually developed,” which “goes to the fact that he is not a pedophile.
“This is not a case where he is prowling the streets looking for minors,” Aarons said.
Judge Ellington ruled in favor of the state, saying Bingham’s statements to his father showed he had developed a detailed plan for how he might take his own life.
Given his experience as a corrections officer and law enforcement officer, combined with his anger at the arresting officer in the case, the judge said, Bingham also presents a “huge risk” to the community.